There is No Age Gap Where Reading is Concerned

The most amazing thing has happened. My 15-month-old son has discovered books. It's not just the passing notice where he picks one up, messes with it for a second, then puts it down (which is how he treats almost all other toys,) but rather a genuine interest. He already has favorites. He will pick out books to read before naps and bedtime. It's as if the love of reading that's so prominent in my family has trickled down to him intrinsically. He's a reader before he can actually read.

There's nothing better than reading a book with your kids. It doesn't matter what you read, I get as much joy reading Otis to my son and The Book with No Pictures to my daughter (she's five) as I do curling up before bed and reading a book of my own. That's the great thing about connecting with someone through reading - the book isn't what matters, it's the act of reading that has the impact.

Passing on not only the love of reading but the books that made an impact on me as a child has been a wonderful experience thus far and it's only going to get better. My daughter has my own copies of some of my childhood favorites, The Aristocats and The Rescuers and brand new copies of titles that made me smile each time I pick them up like Sylvester and the Magic Pebble and Stone Soup. My son will inherit these books eventually, but in the meantime, his board book copy of The Napping House is especially fun to read to him when he lets me.

I'm so proud to say we're a reading family and that the written word, whether it's a book, magazine, eBook, or comic holds great value with each of us. 

Books Everyone Should Read

Rediscovering Childhood Favorites

This isn't going to be a book review. The book I'm reading right now has started off incredibly boring, so it's going slowly. Instead, I wanted to share the joy I've been getting from reading to my daughter. Yes, Olivia is only five months old so the books I read her don't really sink in, but reading to her gives me the opportunity to revisit favorite books from my childhood. Of course there are the staples - books all children get read to them - Good Night Moon, The Hungry Caterpillar, Where the Wild Things Are, and the assorted Dr. Seuss titles. Olivia has all of those. I'm talking about books like Madeline, Ferdinand, and The Five Chinese Brothers.

My childhood recollections of these books didn't include the stories. Before rereading, I could have only told you that Madeline gets her appendix removed; I remembered nothing else. Yet these books, along with so many others, were a major part of my early childhood. Olivia has all of these books at her fingertips and is quickly approaching the time in her life when books will begin to appeal to her. It makes me wonder which books will stick in her memory, what she'll end up reading to her children someday.

I've begun a list of books to buy Olivia. They only include titles that looked familiar to me. I'm trying to keep the list down to books that will be relevant for her within the next year or two, but it's hard. I found myself adding the Ramona Quimby books to the list and she won't be ready for those until third or fourth grade. I even have the Little House on the Prairie series sitting in a cabinet for her and bought Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland on sale last month.

I don't even know if Olivia will read actual books as she grows up. Everything might be electronic by then (it's a sad thought) but I find myself getting so very excited by just the thought of sharing books with my daughter. I want her to love to read, no matter the medium and I hope that my joy toward the books on her shelves is contagious. I hope we, as a family, always have time to read together.

Thanks for indulging my little rant :)